This invention relates to metering apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for informing utility customers of their cumulative energy consumption of utilization devices and the cost thereof.
The conventional method of determining customer use of electric energy is to locate a kilowatthour meter at the entry point of the customer's network. Such devices employ a variety of registration modes, including cyclometers or dial type registers. The former, in appearance identical to an automobile odometer, is easily read by the customer. Dial type registers are in more common usage, and are somewhat more difficult to read precisely. None of the meters in general usage gives the customer direct indications of the cost of the energy being consumed. Hence, even if the customer is able accurately to read his kilowatthour consumption from his meter, the practical economic effect thereof is still not apparent, unless a record is kept of successive readings, and necessary cost calculations are performed thereon. Even if the customer is willing and able to take such periodic readings from perhaps inconveniently located house meters and to make the necessary calculations, such information would then be available only for the entire consumer network and not for individual applicances.
Increasing electrical costs have made residential customers acutely aware of the impact of energy consumption and energy conservation upon every day budgets. Increasing prices and confusing bills sometimes cause the consumer to claim erroneous readings by the power company, in the belief that such extensive consumption as indicated on the bill could not have been possible. Furthermore, the present metering systems make it difficult for consumers to adopt comprehensive and effective energy conservation programs, since most of the conservation programs must be based on guess work and assumptions.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a display apparatus which registers in convenient decimal form the cumulative consumption of electrical energy by the customer, as well as the dollar and cent cost of that consumption. It is a further object of the present invention to extract information for processing into cumulative kilowatthour consumption and costs, from a kilowatthour meter.
It is another object of the present invention to provide convenient apparatus for detecting cumulative energy consumption and cost thereof for individual electric utilization devices connected to a local consumer network.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for depicting cumulative energy consumption and cost in a metering means which is conveniently portable, and which thereby may be placed or replaced at any desired position within the home or place of business of the consumer.